how to be Cavalry - Now I guess we'll have to teach

the Airborne.

1-4 CAV TRANSFORMS TO  "FIRST AIRBORNE RECON SQUADRON

 

SCHWEINFURT, Germany -- The last day of February

marked the first time since World War II that one 1st

Infantry Division cavalry unit was without armored

vehicles, moving them closer to being the first

airborne reconnaissance squadron in the Army.

As their last M1A1 Abrams tanks rolled onto the

Conn Barracks railhead in Schweinfurt, Germany,

Feb. 28, the 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment

took one step closer to transforming from heavy to

light and joining the 173rd Airborne Brigade – based

at Vicenza, Italy.

“It’s a big day for this unit to transition away from

the track vehicles and get ready to go airborne,” said

CPT Daniel Baldi, Headquarters and Headquarters

Troop commander. “The big, significant thing is, in

line with the Army’s transformation, to get all of

these track vehicles and heavy vehicles out of the

squadron. It really paves the way for us to get ready

to accept the new (Modified Table of Organization

and Equipment) and be ready to take on the new

mission.”

More than six months ago, the squadron began to

change its training in anticipation of the impending

shift to light reconnaissance by increasingly focusing

on dismounted operations training for not only the

squadron’s scouts, but also the tankers.
“This is a humungous change,” said Baldi. “You go

away from the track vehicles and the huge logistics

footprint that comes along with that. Now with the

airborne (characteristic), it’s lighter, it’s faster, it’s

more mobile and easier to deploy. So it’s a complete

change from the standard that we’ve seen over the

last few years with the heavier equipment.”

“I can’t imagine a more complex set of tasks than

what this squadron’s been asked to do,” said LTC

Christopher Kolenda, 1-4 CAV commander.

During the shift in training, the squadron has had to

reconstitute all of its personnel and heavy equipment

from their deployment during Operation Iraqi

Freedom II. The unit immediately thereafter managed

about 40 percent of the unit’s redeploying Soldiers

for permanent changes of station, while processing

incoming Soldiers. Leadership meanwhile has also

been working to energize their Soldiers to cooperate

in changing the identity and culture of this heavy

cavalry unit. Squadron members have been gearing

up for airborne school, working to change the

tactics, techniques and procedures, and even

creating new unit songs and mottos.

Since members of the squadron employed the M1A1

Abrams tanks and M3A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles

for patrols and missions during their deployment to

Iraq, the mood among Soldiers has been a mix of

optimism and sadness.

“It’s certainly a bitter-sweet day,” said Kolenda.

“These tanks have been to Bosnia; they’ve been to

Macedonia; they’ve been to Iraq. There’s a lot of

emotional attachment to these vehicles … so to see

them get on a train and depart, on the one hand it’s a

significant emotional event for all of us; on the other

hand, it’s another very important step to the future

as we turn in all of our heavy vehicles.”

“We’re taking tanks and Bradley’s out of a cavalry

unit,” said CSM John Fortune, 1-4 CAV command

sergeant major. “It’s what we’ve historically had.

These tanks have been here since June of ’96, so

this has been the workhorse for the cavalry squadron

for at least 10 years. So yes, it’s a sad day for the

cavalry to get rid of these big beasts back here.”
Fortune conceded, however, that many of the

Soldiers are excited about the transition.

“A lot of these 19K tankers have decided they want

to jump out of planes and be light reconnaissance

squadron members,” said Fortune. “We’ve got 17

guys at Fort Knox right now becoming 19D scouts

from the Armor force, and they’re all looking forward

to jumping out of planes – that’s for sure.”

“That’s the best part about the Army,” said SGT Mark

Hilbert, a scout with C Troop, 1-4 CAV. “You get to

do new things – interesting things – and the fact that

you can jump out of a plane and get paid for it – it’s

great.”
“It’s truly a unique opportunity in the Army,” said

Kolenda. “We are on the cutting edge of Army

transformation. And you see a lot of that happening

right here. There are a lot of Soldiers very, very

excited about this transformation.

The reenlistment rates are through the roof, and

people are really looking forward to the new mission,

to the opportunity to be in an airborne unit and at the

same time maintaining the spirit of the cavalry.”

(Story by SPC Stephen Baack, 1st Infantry Division

Public Affairs)